Yesterday, Rick and I met with some friends from my high school. We haven't seen them since we got married over 15 years ago, and it was great to reconnect. Not only did we share some great memories, but we discovered that we've grown to have similar interest. Not surprising, as they're interest that started the friendship all those years ago and we discovered that they've evolved as we've grown in similar ways. It was a sharp contrast to the twinge I felt today when I started to check my door for an Avon catalog and realized: I don't have to do that anymore. The friend that delivered my Avon is wrapping up her business this week. There won't be any more catalogs to check for. No more phone conversations placing orders, or Wednesday evening chats when she makes her delivery. Sure, she lives close by, but what kept us in regular contact is gone. And I miss her already. There's something about this time of year that reminds me of people that have touched my life. I know there's a Celtic belief that the "spirit world" is closest to our own at Halloween. I'm not sure - maybe it's so. After all, we did find ourselves talking about a member of our class that passed away a couple of years ago. It seems we've all had instances that reminded us of her this past week. I also find myself thinking of my maternal grandparents a lot this time of year as well - no doubt because my granddaddy had a birthday on October 7 and passed away on October 23.Certainly, we miss those that have passed out of our lives, whether through death or through a change of seasons that separate us from them. Life is change, and people come and go, just as circumstances do. And as I get older, I can see how the people I knew before have influenced how I live and relate to people now. For example, I fully believe I'm a writer because of my maternal grandparents and a great aunt - my grandfather's sister, specifically, who gave me my first bookshelf and, along with my parents and grandparents, made sure it was always fully stocked with plenty of books. They told me stories from their lives, too, and I've always loved for people to tell me their personal stories. I wonder what they'd think if they knew that Splinter gave one of my beta readers nightmares about dark matter ripping their house apart. They'd laugh or head smack one - who knows which? They'd also tell me to make sure my readers know that if they're prone to nightmares, then it might be best not to read any of my books before bedtime. Other people have influenced me, too. My Avon friend and a couple of other ladies I was friends with at my former job taught me a lot about friendship. I learned to accept people for who they are, and to appreciate the common interests you share. Nobody will agree with you on everything, or share all of your interest, but that's just the point - people are different and friendships are built on celebrating people as unique individuals, both for what you share, and for what you learn from those differences. These are lessons that I'm sure have led me to getting along with my current colleagues better, and in connecting with new friends. Yes, everybody touches our life in one way or another, and if you look hard enough, I'm sure you'll see how those influences have helped you develop, grow, learn, and connect with others. That's all for today. I hope you have a great week. Bye!

Many of you know that Rick and I built our home on my great-grandmother's old homeplace five years ago. I never really knew Granny Shull. She died when I was six and was in a nursing home the whole time I was alive. I remember scraps of occational visits, but not too much. Alas, my young mind was not developed enough to retain memories of her and that is a shame.

Mom has told me some intersting things about her, and one thing that amused me was that she was very superstitious. Oh, some of the stories I heard. Like how she had Granddaddy get rid of all her hens because one was crowing and a crowing hen is bad luck, so she got rid of them all just to be sure. Or the time she made him dig up a cedar tree because of the old wives tale that if you plant a cedar tree you'll die once it's big enough to cover your grave. They say people were more superstitious in that day. Perhaps so. I can tell you one thing - it's not a trait I inherited. In fact, I'm not superstitious at all. I'm not saying that I don't believe in spirits and the like. I'm just saying that they don't bother me much and frankly, I don't put much stock in it. I mean, isn't it supposed to be supernatural and spooky because it doesn't happen much? If ghosts knocked crap off the counters all the time, we wouldn't worry about it. There's also the fact that I've managed to debunk a number of those superstitions and old wives tales since we moved out here. For example, if you chop a snake in half, it doesn't writhe until nightfall. Quite the contrary, if your husband hacks at it with an ax, that sucker isn't moving at all. It's an ugly, bloody mess. What's spooky is that something came and carried it off overnight. Ew. Methinks our wildlife does not have a refined palate. Likewise, owls hoot without regard to anything. They don't get the paper or read the obituaries and they have absolutely no way of knowing if somebody you know is about to die. They hoot because they're there and that's what they do. And they won't stop if you turn your pillow over, either. They don't know you did it and frankly, they don't care. A train whistle two miles away, though, will shut those suckers up faster than anything. And they also can't see well. I learned this in a college psychology class, but my brother confirmed it when he saw an owl fly head first into an oak tree in his back yard. The owl was quite startled, and had absolutely no messages from "the other side." Stephen wasn't sure if the owl even knew where it was at for a while. Ladybugs in your house don't bode much for luck, but it means that you need to close the door or patch the hole. And they are helpful in the rose garden, as they eat the buggers that do kill plants. Cats do not have nine lives, or at least getting hit by a truck pretty much takes all of them at once. Crows cawing in your yard and raising hell don't mean death is coming. It means there's a raptor is nearby. I don't know why, but if crows see a raptor, they surround it and scream at it. I guess they figure raising hell will annoy them enough to go away.That sound outside at night is not the boogeyman. It's likely raccoons. Or perhaps opossums. And opossums really do play dead. Just don't mess with them. They can get visious and it's just not worth it. They'll revive and be on their way shortly.And in closing, we decided that if you plant a cedar tree then you probably will die when it gets tall enough for the shadow to cover your grave because by then you'll be old. So there may be a reason for that one. Happy Halloween everybody! Have fun and stay safe out there. Don't forget to check out my FREE Halloween themed long story, Resonance, at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88653 or at http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/resonance-sherri-fulmer-moorer/1106547585?ean=2940011520709 and enjoy this great video to celebrate the day. Bye!

As the bewitching season draws upon us with the arrival of Halloween next week, I have to ask: have you ever noticed there are some things that freak people out for no good reason? It always catches you by surprise because it’s stuff you think nothing of, yet people act like you’ve unleashed a doomsday weapon on them. For example, I’ve had people freak out on me over: 1.Coughing or sneezing. In the south it’s common for people to have sinus and allergy problems (especially in the spring or fall), but do it more than once and people are asking “OH MY GOD ARE YOU SICK?” and threatening quarantines, Lysol attacks, or snapping “can’t you DO something about that?” or “don’t you want to go home?” Ok, and who’s going to do the work while I take a sabbatical in the spring and fall while my bad sinuses are acting up? Yea, that’s what I thought. Bottom line: Anybody that’s battled sinus and allergy problems their entire life know the difference between overactive antibodies, viruses and infections. Do your part by washing your hands and taking care of yourself and we’ll do our part to be responsible enough to take care not to spread germs around. 2.Food allergies. The allergy is merely inconvenient because you have to watch what you eat, but what really makes it difficult is the hysterical reaction you get from others when you disclose it. I’m allergic to pecans, and every year about this time I have to deal with it. One time, a woman actually stopped an entire holiday party with a screaming fit demanding that every item on the buffet had to be checked because “OMG SHE COULD DIE!” after my husband asked if any of the desserts had pecans in them. That was so embarrassing that I decided it might be more helpful for me to carry a tranquilizer dart than an EpiPen to social functions in the future. Bottom line: My food allergy is my responsibility to deal with and I deal with it. I’m not trying to get attention or asking people to feel sorry for me when I disclose it – I’m trying to take responsibility for my allergy and prevent problems. I'm the only one that needs to adjust to this problem - not you. 3.Having a CWP (Concealed Weapons Permit). It’s funny, because people having firearms in the south is pretty common. In fact, it’s safer to assume people are armed around these parts. But let me tell you, people that have problems with guns are not shy about letting you know all about it, and why they have the problem. We learned this one day last summer when Rick was asked for ID to joined a preferred member club at a store (that shall remain nameless) and accidentally pulled out his CWP instead of his drivers license. Oh, the drama. The woman started out by screaming “I DON’T WANT THAT! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!” and proceeded into a fit of how she couldn’t believe anybody could be ok with having a gun near them, that she didn’t like that there was probably one in the store right now and (*gasp*) pointing at me and screeching “MY GOD SHE PROBABLY HAS A GUN IN HER PURSE!!” Hyperventilation started at that point and a co-worker literally had to hold her and “talk her off a ledge” while I pondered whether I should talk to Hawkeye or Oliver Queen/Green Arrow about how to get and deliver a tranqualizer dart in these recurring freakouts I keep witnessing. Thank goodness the store wasn’t crowded. I wish I were telling a story, but folks, I can’t make this crap up. This really happened. Bottom Line: People with a CWP have gone through extensive training to exercise their constitutional right to bear arms and are capable of handling firearms properly and responsibly. And furthermore, you should be glad to have them around. Because they aren’t the ones you need to worry about – it’s the bad guys that got them on the black market and are using them to commit crimes that you need to worry about. Because CWP holders are doing it legally and are registered. The bad guys - well, who knows? And by the way, I’m not commenting on whether or not I have a gun in my purse. 4.Being married and not having children. And the longer you’ve been married, the further the jaws drop. People just can’t believe a couple can be married for more than 2 years (or be in their 30’s) and not reproduce. “Are you kidding? No kids? I mean, where are you at in life?” I’ll tell you where we’re at. It’s at the corner of “all our business” and “none of yours.” Bottom line: Nobody asked you to justify why you have kids and we aren’t required to justify why we don’t. Of course, there are a lot of other misconceptions that go with being a childless couple. Let me tell you, people think some crazy things about you when you don’t have kids – but this is best dealt with in a separate blog entry.5. Turbulence. I've only recently begun to fly and one thing I have noticed is that people don't seem to understand that air moves at high altitudes just as much - perhaps even more - than it does at ground level. And sometimes, it doesn't do nice things either. The good news is that pilots are well trained and know how to handle it. The bad news is that when the Captain says "we're experiencing a little rough air," it seems the passengers around me hear "IT'S COME TO JESUS TIME! REPENT, BE SAVED, AND BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELTS FOR ALL THE GOOD IT WILL DO BECAUSE YOU WILL SURLY DIE." Well, they acted like that's what they heard, anyway. On the way back from San Francisco people were looking around for their life preservers and Dad and I were laughing saying "good grief, it's just AIR!" Bottom line: Ok, I understand how it can be tough to remain logical when you're bouncing around in a pressurized tube at 30,000 feet like you're in a clothes dryer but please - you expect people to trust that you know how to do your job right? Well, trust the Captain and Co-Captain to do theirs. And besides, I've been in turbulence twice and I'm not dead. Not that I know of, anyway. So as long as you're not trying to fly through the Frankenstorm, don't worry about it. I have to say, I don't get it. Why do these things freak people out? I don't know. Maybe I missed a memo somewhere, as the saying goes. Or maybe I'm just one of those freaks that doesn't know well enough when I should be spazzing out. That's all today. I hope you've enjoyed this fun look at the zany things that make me go hmm. Happy Friday tomorrow and I hope you have a great weekend.Bye!

You have to admit that there's something about October that's inspiring. The weather is cooling off and people are taking their last opportunities to get out before the cold weather sets in - and before the pandemonium of the holidays starts! It seems to me that October is that perfect time in the fall where all things are in harmony and life is ripe for adventure. Perhaps this is why I've been inspired to write not one, but two short works that are set in October. The first was my novella, Quarantine. This was actually the first serious piece of fiction I wrote. It's about four women that work that find themselves quarantined in the administrative office of a hospital after a quarantine kills another employee and sickens the rest of the staff. The illness, a bacterial form of pneumonia, was actually spread through flu shots given two weeks prior - and they find out that it may be no accident that a tainted batch was give to their staff. While locked in the office, they discover that there's a shady history behind their nice little office and discover that an infection might not be the least of their concerns. Quarantine is available through Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88323 and through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/author/sherrimoorer and is only $0.99. If you're looking for a short mystery read that packs a quick punch, this is the story for you.

My other October read is a long story titled Resonance. This story is about eighteen year old college students that find odd things happening in the woods behind their home after one of them buys a mysterious painting. This is a Halloween story that's geared toward teens, but adults that enjoy horror during this bewitching season might also enjoy it. I know, the theme of ghost stories might be a bit cliched, but I still enjoy them from time to time and I believe readers do too (how else can you explain the endless succession of Paranormal Activity movies?). Resonance is even shorter than Quarantine and best of all, I'm offering this one for free through Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/88653 . It's my way of thanking readers for supporting my writing and the work of all indie writers. So go download this one and enjoy!

Yes, October is a great time of year, in reality and in fiction. I find it interesting that this season leading into dormancy for nature is focused so much on holding on to life. Interesting indeed, Just take a look at books, movies and TV shows set this time of year and I believe you'll agree. That's all for today. The maintanance guy for the HVAC unit just left so alas, I must head in to work now. I hope you all have a great day and a good end to the week. Enjoy fall! We're getting into the best days of it. Bye!

Hi everybody, I hope you're doing well. My name is Chloe, and I'm Sherri's female sun conure. Sherri (I call her mommy bird) is a bit tired tonight. She got over her cold to discover that the house was dirty, so she spent a few nights cleaning it. Then today she took off work to go to the Holiday Craftsman's Classic with her Mom. They do that every year. She came back this afternoon loaded down with bags and said she started some Christmas shopping. Snazzy stuff, too. Very unique, which is right up her ally. Anyway, she's a bit worn out, so I said I'd help by pecking out a blog entry for her tonight.Halloween was uneventful. Zack was happy. He said that when they lived in a neighborhood the children would come to the door and expect mommy and daddy to give them candy - for free! It really ticked him off. He's content to cackle at horror movies with daddy now on Halloween. I find the entire holiday completely silly. Goblins and ghouls and ghosts and bogeymen - completely ridiculous.Daddy accepted an offer to help design a website for someone this week, and the gentleman is supposed to come by tomorrow to see some preliminary work and give daddy some better ideas of how to design it. Daddy did such a good job with the church website at www.mttaborlutheran.org and he's excited about this new opportunity. Mommy is happy about it too. Daddy likes designing websites and she said she's very glad he's developing this. What a windy day it was today! And it seemed to get worse as the day went on! I was definitely glad I got adopted by a family that lets me live in the house with them. Life in an aviary is ok as long as the weather is nice. But weather, wind and rain - terrible for the feathers. Mine have gotten so much softer since they adopted me. I'm softer than cotton now! And I don't have to fight to get to the food dish any more either - I have my own food bowl! I love it. I love my toys. I love mommy, daddy, Zack and Ollie. I love my life. It's a happy life. Sometimes I'm so happy that I dance. But I'm a bit sleepy now and tired of typing, so I'm going to go now. If you want to know a bit more about me, Zack and Ollie, please feel free to check out our website at http://conurecorner.weebly.com .Mommy said to tell you Happy Friday. I hope you have a good weekend as well. Luv,Chloe

Hi folks; I hope you're doing well and having a great weekend. It's been ok. Rick and I have had colds this past week, and it seemed to be at it's worst for me Friday and yesterday. Thankfully, I am feeling better today. Mom will be relieved. The big Holiday Craft Show that we go to every year is Friday (November 4th) and she was afraid I would be sick. But no worries because I seem to be getting better.

The short story project is going well. Wow, I didn't realize how far off I was on that one! I was treating short stories basically as one act novels, but they really are their own unique creation. I think I better understand the basic elements and the importance of capturing emotion in that format now. Basically, I was simplifying it way too much. Just because they're shorter and simpler than novels doesn't mean they require less work. The work may take less time, but they need the same type of planning, investment and respect as novels do. Eventually I do plan to bring back the "Short Story" tab to this website, but obviously I want to work on this more to make sure I bring you quality content.

I did have a bit of success today. My paragraph was featured at Paragraph Planet today! You can check it out at www.paragraphplanet.com ! (You'll have to check the archive to see it after today). In other news, Mt. Tabor had their big Reformation Sunday/125 year celebration service today. Reformation Sunday is a big deal in the Lutheran Church. It's the celebration of when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the doors of the church at Wittenburg (it was actually October 31, but we celebrate on the closest Sunday). And a little thing called the printing press gave it to the masses. We should hope that e-publishing has an equally significant impact on society. I'm all about power to the people, and I hope e-books bring independent authors to the forefront of the writing business and allow readers to see that they DO have other choices besides what the bookstores and bigwig publishers force feed them. Wow, I got a wee bit off topic there. Well, consider it my "I hope e-publishing allows independent authors to take over the publishing industry" speech for the day.

But anyway ... our church also celebrated 125 years in the community. My great great grandfather was the first pastor. If he could see it now - well, he'd meet me and say it's probably a good thing they invented better over the counter headache medication. And wonder if they'd ever find a name for whatever's up with me. Not yet, so far.

I had to winterize my roses yesterday. Yep, we had our first frost last night, so I had to go out there and trim off all the growth - so the 2011 growing season is officially over. It's always kind of sad to do that. I have the last bloom of the season in a bud vase on my computer counter in the kitchen. It's a red rose - my favorite. They did really well this summer (despite the searing heat), and I pray they make it through the winter to have another great growing season in 2012.

So the end of growing season means more time for indoor activities. Tonight, we're going to watch Captain America - The First Avenger. We never made it to the theater to see this one. In fact, we haven't been to the movies since we saw Harry Potter in August. Oh well. Netflix sent Captain America yesterday so we're going to watch it tonight. Then - I don't know. There are short stories, of course, and reading, and I do have a couple of small cross stitch kits in my bag. We'll see. No NaNoWriMo for me this year (National Novel Writing Month). I enjoyed it last year and am kind of bummed, but frankly I've got nothing in the way of ideas for novels now. Well, the focus is on short stories now anyway so it's ok. I would like to participate again sometime, though, but it won't be this year.

I can't believe Halloween is tomorrow, but alas, it is! We don't get trick-or-treaters out here in the woods, so I guess it will be watching Halloween again. I like the original with Jamie Lee Curtis better than the remake. Not that there's anything wrong with the remake. I just prefer the original.

That's it for now. Mindless rambling and dribble. I hope you've had a great weekend and that your week starts off well tomorrow. Take care and I'll see you later.

Bye!

Sherri the Writer

By day, I'm a program assistant. By night, I'm an independent author. My fiction is a dark mirror to the reality I see every day.